Tens of thousands bid farewell to Morgan Tsvangirai

False report of Russian invasion spurs panic

A fake report by a television station declaring a Russian invasion and the death of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili sparked panic among Georgians on Saturday. The pro-Saakashvili station was taking a swipe at opponents of the government.

REUTERS - Panic gripped Georgia on Saturday when a pro-government television station broadcast a fake report that Russian tanks had entered the capital and President Mikheil Saakashvili had been killed.

Imedi TV introduced the report as an “imitation of possible events”, but the warning was lost on many viewers as mobile phone networks crashed and residents of Tbilisi rushed into the streets.

The report thrust the ex-Soviet neighbours back to August 2008, when Russia crushed an assault by U.S. ally Georgia on the rebel region of South Ossetia in a five-day war and sent tanks to within 45 km (28 miles) of Tbilisi.

The Georgian Interior Ministry said the report, which did not carry a banner saying it was a hoax, caused “great panic”. A cinema in Tbilisi emptied as parents called their children home, a frantic filmgoer said.

Russian Interfax news agency flashed the report on the “alleged” but unconfirmed entry of Russian tanks and death of Saakashvili, and Moscow’s Echo Moskvy radio station interrupted its regular programming with the ‘news’.